Impact
by What'sItAllAbout
Summary: A comet is headed for Earth,  life for the CSI team as they know it will change forever.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! I'm doing another movie inspired fan fic... I know I know... ;P But I really liked the movie Deep Impact and thought it would be great to put the CSI team into the action and see how it plays out. It's slightly AU, pairings are GSR, post Nick/Greg, and Lindsey Willows/OC, the story is mainly told through Lindsey and Greg. Not betaed so all mistakes are mine, I don't own CSI or Deep Impact... blah blah, please R&R guys, thanks!

* * *

Lindsey Willows sat in the mountains outside Vegas peering into her telescope.

_Astronomy club… how lame_, she thought. Her mom had signed her up for it trying to give her something to do at night. _More like keeping me from going out…_

At least the scenery wasn't too bad. Lindsey pushed her hair back and smiled at John Graham, about the only guy on the club worth looking at. Of course, he was really worth looking at. The weird thing was that he was her mom's old boss's nephew, his parents had died three years ago, and now he lived in Vegas with Grissom and Sara. Apparently he had inherited his uncle's intelligence, and fortunately his looks were to die for.

"John? I'm not sure what I'm looking at? Can you help?"

He gave her a lopsided smile and walked over to her telescope.

"Ok, well you're looking at Ursa Major… So what's that one?" he asked, pointing into the sky at a bright star. Lindsey bent down towards the sight on the telescope.

"Uh…. Mizar"

"Good, so what's that one?"

"Alcor"

"Alright and that?"

"Uhhhh"

John smiled while she struggled and finally said, "It's Alioth"

"Oh…" she said unsure.

"Guess you really didn't need my help," John said smirked and walked away.

Lindsey blushed, and then frowned, looking back into the telescope, and then looking down at the chart on the ground.

"John? It's not Alioth"

"What?"

"It's not in the right place"

John came over and looked through her telescope, frowning.

"So what is it?"

"I don't know…"

Lindsey smiled at her flirtatious victory. John lightly pushed her shoulder.

"We'll send it to Dr. Stone at the observatory, he'll probably know"

Lindsey just smiled.

"Oh don't look so smug"

* * *

Dr. Harry Stone sat at his console at the Las Vegas Observatory thumbing through the pictures of the Butterfield Academy Astronomy Club..

He smiled at the large banner and the large group of kids. Then a photo fell out of the stack, paper clipped to a question form. He looked at the photo of Ursa Major and the circled star. He read on.

_Discovered last week… Lindsey Willows_…

Stone sighed and punched the coordinates into the computer and sat back as the large telescope moved into position. He went to the fridge in his office and grabbed a drink before going back to the screen. Stone pulled his glasses off his forehead and stared at what appeared to be an as of yet undiscovered comet. He sat down and set the telescope to map the comet over the next week to calculate its trajectory.

_Lucky kid, she just found herself a comet_

Stone pulled a form out of a desk and filled out the name.

Stone-Willows

He sighed and went back towards the break room; he'd send the form into the national observatory when he figured out the thing's orbit.

* * *

Sara sat in her seat, grumbling about her morning sickness. Greg was across from her in the open-air restaurant, a large trellis shading them.

"And right now he's looking at her down the aisle… smiling that big stupid southern grin of his… His nephew the ring bearer is fidgeting because he's only 3, and…" Greg said, looking at his watch, " now Kitty is up at the altar-"

Sara snorted with a laugh, "It's Katie"

"What?"

"Her name is Katie, you said Kitty"

"Oh well, they're both terrible names."

Sara burst into laughter.

"Now it's do you Nick Stokes take Katie what's her face to be your whatever, the kissy kissy starts, its happily ever after and now we all drink booze," Greg said with a sad smile, tipping his glass to Sara and taking a drink. Sara smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"You going to be ok?" she asked.

"Eh, why would I want a closet case like him back? And I should be asking you if it's suspicious that you're not at the wedding?"

"I told Grissom to tell Nick and _Kitty_ that I have morning sickness"

Greg laughed and sighed, looking down at his watch.

"Ok, I have to get back to the lab, I'll see you later?"

"Mmhmm, and Greg? It'll be ok"

"I know, thanks Sara," Greg said, kissing her on the cheek before leaving the restaurant.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Dr. Stone had received the info from the astronomy club, and he had almost completely forgotten about the comet. He was walking back towards his office with a drink when he noticed one of the screens at the workstation flashing with a red border.

"What?"

He walked over to the pulsing screen and brought up the info, he realized it was about the comet, and then he realized what it meant. Dr. Stone's drink went crashing to the floor.

"Oh my god…"


	2. Chapter 2

_One Year Later

* * *

_

Greg sat listening to the news, sipping his coffee in the break room, rifling through the newspaper. He looked up to see Nick coming in. He was picking at a string on his shirt and sighed before he looked up to see Greg and stopped.

"Oh, uh… Hey Greg," and with that he left the room.

Greg just sighed and went back to his paper. Unless they were working a case together Nick wouldn't even say a word to Greg. Catherine had wised up and had tried to make them work together as little as possible. She didn't know what had happened between the two, but no one was talking to her so she had dropped it. Sara had been extremely helpful in the past year and was coming back from maternity leave in a few days; he knew it would be easier to avoid Nick with Sara back.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by Ray opening the door, "Greg, Catherine has a case for you, pretty hush hush from what I've heard."

He sighed, getting up and walking towards Catherine's office. He knocked lightly before walking in.

"Ah Greg, I have something for you, unfortunately it's all the way out by the Vegas Observatory. A Dr. Stone was driving and went off the edge of the road. I only need you to go up there and rule out foul play."

"That's it?"

"Well," she said, getting up and closing the door behind Greg. "Here's the weird thing, I was called by the FBI about this case, they just want you to go up there and collect evidence and document and leave, that's it."

Greg cocked an eyebrow at Catherine, "Why all the secrecy?"

"No clue, maybe something about the president visiting the city… But the drive out and the drive back should eat up most your shift if that helps," she offered him a smile.

"Yeah, it does. I'll see you tomorrow night if I don't get back before the end of shift to drop off the evidence"

He turned left out of the office and bumped into Wendy, who gave a little scream before falling backwards onto the floor. Greg laughed and held out his hand to the woman now rubbing her behind.

"Very funny," she said, letting Greg help her to her feet. "Where are you going?"

"I'm headed out to the observatory, apparently something big but not big is going on…"

Wendy cocked an eyebrow, "Can I come? I'm really looking for that something that can put me over the edge in field experience so Ecklie will finally give me a chance."

"I would Wendy but I don't think Catherine would like that."

Wendy's face fell a little and Greg could remember his own desire to get out in the field.

"Listen, if I find anything interesting you can help me look over it when I get back and we can give you some credit huh?"

Wendy smiled and gave Greg a small hug before heading back into the DNA lab.

* * *

The long road wound up through the hills and Greg sighed contentedly, settling back into the car seat. Suddenly his phone rang. He sighed, flipping it open.

"Hi Mom."

"Hi sweetheart," the voice of Jean Sanders said from the earpiece.

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing honey, it's a little lonely out here in San Fran without you."

"I know Mom, I've been meaning to come out and visit you"

And he really had, he knew after his dad had died 4 years ago he should visit more often, especially with his mom in the big old rambling house by herself.

"Oh it's not that big of a deal Gregory, I've got all the stuff with the homeowner's association to keep me busy…"

"That's good Mom."

"Listen honey… Why didn't you tell me that Nick got married last year?"

Greg hissed in a breath, "Who told you that?"

"Sara…"

"You call Sara?"

"Only sometimes… sweetheart I know it must be hard but you know you can talk to me right?"

"I know mom…" he sighed.

"Ok… Listen, I know the last time you used it was with Nick right before the two of you… Well anyway the house down on Half Moon Bay is still there if you need a break honey, it might be good for you."

"I'll think about it, Ok?"

"Ok, I love you."

"Love you too."

He hung up, looking back to the road, wiping a few stray tears from his eyes. Greg was almost up to the observatory and to say he was curious was the very least. His interest was even more piqued when he came upon a black SUV parked in the middle of the road. He slowed to a stop when a man in a black suit got out and waved his hands.

"This is a restricted area sir, I'm going to need you to turn around."

"I umm… I'm Greg Sanders? With the Las Vegas Crime Lab?"

"Oh, you… Now look, the accident is right up ahead. You're just going to take pictures and document the car and get back to your lab ok?"

"Right," Greg smiled nervously as the man waved him around the blockade.

Greg came to where he saw the car off the side of the road and pulled off to start documenting. A couple of guys stood around the site, just staring at them. Greg got out to look at the skid marks on the road. It seemed pretty obvious what had happened. The guy had gone off the other side of the road, over corrected and gone off the embankment on the other side. He snapped a few pictures before going over towards the other side. One of the guys walked up to him.

"Just take a few pictures and leave, we'll take care of the body, this is just a formality."

Greg just nodded and went down, going to the upside down car and the man's body lying outside it. Greg took a few pictures, peering inside, wondering about all of the secrecy. He walked over to the man and took out his wallet.

Dr. Stone…

He read through the wallet looking at different cards when he noticed something else sticking out of the man's pocket, a flash drive reading E.L.E. Greg looked over his shoulder at the men at the top of the ridge, who were turned away talking to each other. He slipped the flash drive in his pocket and continued processing the rest of the scene.

* * *

Music came softly out of the speakers as Greg drove to work the next day, staring at the flash drive. He was going to analyze it with the software at work. Greg twiddled it around in his fingers and set it in the cup holder. He reached over to turn the radio up when suddenly he was bumped from behind.

"Jesus!" he shouted angrily, looking up into his mirror. It was upon seeing three large black SUV's that he got nervous.

"_Oh god… Oh god…"_ Greg started to mutter to himself over and over. Looking nervously as two of the SUV's pulled along side him, men in black suits glaring at him.

"Shit!" Greg shouted, and then he was bumped harder in the rear. "OK! OK!"

He saw the men point off to the side of the road, where he pulled his car and got out.

"Mr. Sanders?"

"Yes?" he gulped, looking back as one man took the flash drive out of his car.

"You need to come with us, we'll take care of your car."

Without protesting Greg was led solemnly to the back of one of the SUV's.

* * *

He was being quietly led down a tiled hallway, occasionally glancing into the faces of the men walking with him, their expressions betraying nothing. The group walked through a doorway and he found himself in one of the auxiliary kitchens at the Tangiers, he recognized the space from a call he had once, although now the bustling space was empty.

Greg looked again at his companions, who stood around him in stony silence. One pressed his earpiece into his ear and nodded to another. Greg turned as the door on the far end of the room opened and his jaw dropped when the Secretary of State walked into the room, her high heels sounding off loudly on the expanse of tile floor.

She stopped in front of Greg with narrowed eyes, looking him up and down.

"Hmmph" she muttered under her breath as Greg squirmed under her gaze.

"Alright Ms. Flagler, no reason to scare him."

Greg turned the new voice and his mouth opened even farther as the President walked into the room, accompanied by two more security men and the Secretary of Defense. Greg just gaped until the men stopped in front of him.

"Now Mr. Sanders, I believe you came into some information yesterday?"

Greg only nodded silently.

"What do you know about E.L.E?"

"I…" Greg held back, maybe it was in his best interest to play along with this, "I know enough."

The President just smiled and turned towards the Secretary of State who was still eyeing Greg suspiciously.

"See? What did I tell you?" he turned back to Greg, "I don't suppose you could keep this to yourself in the best interest of the nation?"

"I'm supposed to find the truth, it's my job," Greg breathed, sounding braver than he was feeling.

Secretary of Defense Howe turned to the President.

"You want us to hold him?"

Greg shifted uncomfortably, "They're expecting me at work soon," he muttered quietly, but the three seemed to not be paying attention to him. President Gerring held his chin thoughtfully, turning towards Flagler.

"What if we go public in two days? Could we do that?"

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, "Yes… In theory."

"Come on now Karen, this was never going to be a secret as long as you wanted it to be."

Greg just stood there dumbly while they spoke, wishing he'd never even taken that flash drive. Suddenly Gerring turned to him.

"If you can be quiet we can make this worth your while, you and your team."

Greg just nodded and he was pulled from the room and led back outside.


	3. Chapter 3

Greg pulled up outside the lab, breathing heavily. He put his head against the wheel, his heart still pounding from the encounter. Taking a couple of deep breaths he made his way into the lab towards his desk in Grissom's old office.

Sitting down he called up the lab search engine and typed in ELE. After twenty minutes of finding nothing that would seem of interest to the government he sat back, running his hands through his hair. Greg then leaned forward and thought for a second before separating the letters with periods. A new series of links came up, most dealing with paleontology.

"Paleontology? What?"

Greg clicked on the website leading to the paleontology department of UWLV and was drawn to where E.L.E. was highlighted. Clicking on the link he was taken to the University's Extinction Studies. Greg scrolled down through the page, reading paragraph after paragraph of the evidence of an asteroid or comet striking the earth and causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. He scrolled to the top of the page, his eyes wide at the bold text: Extinction Level Event. Greg felt like hyperventilating, he had to –

"Hey!"

"HEY!" Greg shouted, standing up quickly from behind the desk to greet a startled Wendy.

"Umm hi… I just wanted to see why you were late this morning?"

"Oh…" Greg said, sitting back down, "I uh, got in a fender bender, some guy hit me from behind."

"Oh that sucks," she said, moving towards the door, "By the way did you find anything interesting out there yesterday I can help with and show to Ecklie?"

"Uh, no, nothing, it was pretty much routine"

Wendy's smile fell a little but it returned quickly, "That's ok, I'll see you later Greg."

Greg sighed and sat back down in front of his computer, the implications finally starting to wash over him.

* * *

_Two Days Later

* * *

_

Lily Flynn stood in the kitchen of her daughter's home, making herself another whiskey sour. She looked out into living room where Lindsey lay on the floor with her "friend" John Graham, both working on a science project. He was over here all the time since Catherine's old boss and his wife had moved half a block away. Lily herself normally wouldn't be here on one of Catherine's nights off but she was pleased that her daughter had asked her to stay. Catherine herself was sitting on the couch with her feet curled under her reading a new novel she had gotten while she sipped on a glass of wine. The Flynn girls had always loved their alcohol, no one could ever disagree with that Lily thought wryly, amused suspicion on her face as she watched John leaning closer to Lindsey to help her with their conclusion.

Catherine looked up over her glasses at the two on the floor, sharing a conspiratorial smile with her mother standing in the kitchen. She went back to her book as the special news bulletin came up on the screen of the TV, announcing that the President of the United States was about to speak. Catherine heard a groan and looked to her daughter on the floor.

"Ugh Mom, these are always soooo boring… Can we turn it to MTV?"

"Lindsey, a little current events isn't going to hurt you, besides, what do you care, you're doing homework right?"

"Oh snap, you just got told…" John said to Lindsey sarcastically. She shoved him in the arm and looked back to her mother.

"See what I have to put up with? Besides the background noise is _helping_ me concentrate."

"Mmhmm" Catherine said, grabbing her glass of wine and settling back into the couch.

Lindsey's hand snuck towards the remote on the coffee table when Lily suddenly grabbed it.

"I don't think so kiddo, whenever that man is on the TV I have to watch… his voice makes me melt like butter."

John burst into laughter and Catherine chuckled.

"Ewww grandma!" Lindsey shouted.

"Shhh, he's coming on," Catherine said.

"Good Evening America, I come to you today because…"

Greg sat at the table in the break room staring up at the TV in unease. The entire night shift was sitting in the room. Wendy stood by Hodges in the back of the room. Mandy and Henry sat in the chair playing of all things, red hands, while Henry kept exclaiming she was cheating. Nick stood in the back of the room near the door, rubbing his wedding band and sending furtive glances toward Greg. Langston sat reading over a case file with Archie. Greg sighed, his eyes scanning over the faces of these coworkers and all of the other technicians and lab workers, knowing that this was probably a moment that would change their lives forever. Sara sent him a wink from across the table before looking back down at her crossword.

"Could everybody be quiet for a minute?" Ecklie shouted, turning up the TV.

Everyone settled into silence, looking up at the monitor mounted on the wall.

"- About a year ago two scientists saw something in the night sky that caused them great concern. A comet. There was a remote possibility that the comet's course could bring it into direct contact with the earth. Now we get hit all the time by rocks and meteors some as big as cars some as big as your hand. Now this comet–"

Muttering broke out in the break room, the startled faces looking at eachother. Greg looked over at Sara who was staring at the TV with a slack jaw.

"- is the size of New York City, from the north side of Central Park to the Battery. Put another way… this comet is bigger than Mount Everest –"

Lindsey's eyes were wide as she stared at the TV, her mother sat on the couch behind her and she heard the clinking of ice as her grandmother downed the entire contents of her drink.

"- Comets begin far out in space. They're what's leftover from the creation of the solar system after the planets were formed billions of years ago. Now these chunks of space debris are in an elongated orbit around the sun. Sometimes these can get bumped and put into a new orbit. Now if this comet stays on its path around the sun and keeps its present course there is a chance that sometime on August 16th next year, we might have impact. So for the past eight months the United States and Russia have been constructing a spaceship, the largest ever constructed, in orbit around the planet. We call this ship the Messiah. We have an international crew picked that will board the ship in two months time and will hopefully stop the comet. I'd like to take you now to Cape Canaveral where we have this crew on stand by-"

Greg looked around at the fear and wonder on his co-workers faces. His eyes found Nick's. He stared at the chocolate eyes for a few moments before Nick dropped his gaze and looked back to the TV where they had cut back from the space crew in Florida to the news conference.

"Our society will continue as normal, you will still work… and you will pay your bills." Lighthearted laughter was heard in the background of the press conference. "There will be a slight restructuring of law to maintain order. I am freezing all wages, and all prices. Now I will take a few questions."

The President pointed out into the crowd, a young woman stood up, "Hi, Lauren Thomas, CNN. Why wasn't this announcement made sooner?"

"We didn't want to unnecessarily alarm the public until we could be sure we could even build the rocket, let alone if there was even a possibility the earth would be struck."

The woman remained standing.

"Do you have another question Ms. Thomas?"

"Yes, sir, exactly how sure are you that the Messiah will save us?" The woman sat back down, the rest of the press leaning forward intently.

"I can't promise you everything. I will promise you, all of you, at some point in the next ten months we will all experience our worst fears and concerns, but I can also promise you this, life will go on. We will prevail."

Reporters shot up again and Gerring pointed at an older gentleman in the front, "Hello again sir, Anthony Harris, MSNBC. Does the comet have a name?"

"We named it for the two scientists who discovered it. Dr. Harry Stone and Dr. Willows at the Las Vegas Observatory-"

Lindsey perked up and looked over at John who mouthed, _"Dr. Stone? Astronomy Club?" _Lindsey shrugged, _"Dr. Willows? Does he mean you and that star you saw?"_ she shrugged again and turned back towards the TV.

"- While Dr. Stone was killed a few days ago in an accident we discovered mention in his books of another scientist, a Dr. Willows who we have been unable to track down yet. So we have named the comet for them, Stone-Willows."

Catherine looked down at her daughter, "Is he talking about you? He is isn't he?"

Lindsey just gaped at the screen as the press conference ended and they heard a knock on the door. They opened it to see Grissom holding his one month old.

"Can you believe this? Was he talking about you Lindsey?"

* * *

Greg sat in silence staring around the room as the rest of the people in the room chattered excitedly to each other. He got up and went towards his former boyfriend.

"Nick…"

But Nick turned on his heel and left the room, his cell phone ringing. He picked up in the hall

"Hello? … Hey babe, yea I heard the news"

Greg sighed sadly and turned back around to Sara, who was walking towards him.

"It'll be ok Greg… I have to call Gil," she said, moving out of the room.

"Mr. Sanders?"

Greg turned around in shock to see Secretary of State Karen Flagler standing at the entrance to the break room. Everyone in the room went quiet.

"I see you kept your end of the bargain so now I have some news that concerns all of you. As the president said there will be a restructuring of the law to maintain order, the country has been divided into three major divisions, West, Central, and East, they will coordinate with all branches of law enforcement to maintain order, with major cases being head up by the Division leaders. Due to this lab's case record and Mr. Sander's cooperation with the government we will be taking a portion of your team to be the major case team on the forensics division of the country's western portion. The Western region will have order maintained from San Francisco, where an office building has been retrofitted for our use over the past 8 months. There will be housing provided, and the new supervisor of the forensics unit will be Greg Sanders."

Everyone in the room whipped around to look at Greg.

"Those of you that have been chosen will receive private notification in the next few hours. While the pay incentive will be enormous, the facilities will be unlike anything you have ever used, and I recommend taking this opportunity, it is still your decision. You will have one week to choose whether you will participate and two weeks to move. Thank you."

She left the room, Greg following closely.

"I suppose it's not a choice for me?"

"Look Mr. Sanders-"

"Greg"

"Greg… This could mean the world for your career, after this comet thing ends you could have the run of any lab in the country."

"You mean _if_ this comet thing ends…"

Ms. Flagler's eyes dropped, "Yes… If"

Greg sighed and looked back towards the crowded break room.

"I'll go"

For the first time since he had met her Ms. Flagler smiled.

"Thank you, I'll see you in San Francisco, the sooner you can get out there the better."

She walked away and Greg turned around to come face to face with Wendy.

"So this was the _nothing_ you found?"

"Wendy…"

"Forget it Greg… Just forget it," she said, tearing up as she walked away.

Greg sighed, walking to his office to start clearing out his desk. He was starting to walk out when the phone on Nick's desk started to go off. His face fell when he saw the caller ID:

U.S. Government.


	4. Chapter 4

_Seven Months later

* * *

_

Greg walked down the hall to his office, the expanse of glass along the wall to his left providing a view down towards the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. He passed the conference room where Catherine and Ray sat going through paper work while the live broadcast of the Messiah mission played out. He stuck his head in the room.

"Hey boss man," Catherine said good-naturedly, "You going to watch this with us underlings? Wendy, Nick, Sara, and the rest of the other techs already went home."

Greg, Catherine, Ray, and the three others were the ones that had been chosen to come to San Francisco, and Catherine had seemed to welcome the demotion, even if she wasn't supervisor she had more power here than she ever would have had in Vegas.

Greg chuckled and looked at his watch, "Yeah, just give me a minute, a few things I have to file on the grocery store looting in Portland."

Ray nodded and looked back at the screen while Catherine got up and went over to the trays of bottled water. Greg continued down the hall to his office at the end, the corner view allowing him to see both the bay and the foothills of the mountains in the far distance east of the city. He threw a few things in his drawer and wrote a quick note before shutting off his computer and walking back to the conference room.

* * *

Lindsey stood in the open kitchen of the house she shared with her mother and grandmother, watching the Messiah broadcast while she cooked dinner for John and herself. She had adjusted well to moving to San Francisco, especially since Sara had been asked to come to be on the major case team as well, the Grissoms had made the move and now lived only two houses down from Catherine. All of the people from Vegas had been provided housing here in San Fran. Nick and his wife lived a block over and Greg lived two blocks down. Lindsey also knew Wendy was somewhere close by as well.

Lindsey also had adjusted well to becoming the "Famous Lindsey Willows" too. The fervor had been at its peak right after the media had found out who she was and that she was the only discoverer still alive. No one knew why Dr. Stone had not mentioned Lindsey in the months after finding the comet. But after she and John couldn't even get coffee one day because of the journalists John said he thought it was because he was trying to protect her from all this, from having her name on a comet that could kill the entire human race in just three months.

But of course it had died down five months ago after the Messiah had finally taken off towards the comet, and they media had mostly been covering the slowly escalating unrest in the world as the ship journeyed to its interception with the comet.

Lindsey was mixing the stir-fry, staring at the screen while John sat on the couch. She looked towards him; he sat staring at the TV, his brow furrowed in concentration. Somehow in the past few months, she had fallen in love with him. Not just teenage love, but what she was sure was _real love_.

Lindsey sighed, turning her attention back to the screen, where the CNN news anchor was explaining the Messiah mission.

"As you know, 6 hours ago the Messiah landed on the comet, the crew has been planting nuclear explosives along the comet which will be detonated after the ship leaves the comet. The hope is that this explosion will be enough to knock the comet off of its present course and away from the earth. The mission should be leaving the surface soon, and we will have more information as it comes. I now go to Jillian Turner who has Dr. Sanjay Gupta from UCLA to explain the physics behind all of this."

"Thank you Brian, and thank you Dr. Gupta for joining us," the smiling blonde woman said, turning to the man in a chair to her right, "Now, what can you tell us about-"

* * *

The breeze outside the open window caught the curtains and billowed them into the living room. Nick relished the feeling for a moment before Katie got up and closed the window, complaining about bugs. She came back to the couch and sat against him. Nick adjusted to allow her to get closer, but it all felt perfunctory. It just didn't feel right. He shook his head slightly, who was he kidding here?

The couple turned back to the TV.

"-Now as you can see from the live feed we have from the Messiah, the ship has left the surface of the comet and is preparing to detonate the nuclear warheads. Because of the distance there is a twenty second delay in the film, so when we see the explosion, it will have already happened."

* * *

Greg pushed another stack of paperwork towards Catherine for her to review, they had been putting it off for a few weeks and as his deputy supervisor Catherine needed to sign off on everything.

"May I join you?"

He turned to see Karen Flagler, who was basically in charge of how the entire Western Division was run stood in the doorway. Greg nodded and she moved to take a seat near next to Catherine. Ray still sat silently staring at the television and when Greg saw the countdown he motioned for Catherine to look up as well.

Suddenly the screen that contained an image of the comet in the distance was filled with a bright white blast and the anchor came back on.

"As you can see the comet has detonated and now we'll just wait for the signal from the ship to come back. Until then we would like to talk to our correspondent Monica Ramirez at Mission Control in Houston, Monica?"

Ray turned to the others, "What do you think?"

They shrugged and looked back down at the paperwork, while Karen moved to the other side of the conference room to make a pot of coffee until the signal came back.

* * *

Lindsey and John were washing the dishes when the screen cut from the reporter in Houston to the president. Lily Flynn had come downstairs and sat on the couch, while Grissom and Sara, who had arrived an hour ago sat on the loveseat, Sara bouncing the baby on her knee. President Gerring did not look like the same man that Lily used to fawn over, while he was still handsome, his face showed the signs of aging, stress, and disappointment.

"Good evening America, it is my unfortunate duty to tell you that while the detonation succeeded, it did not destroy the comet or its course. The detonation has caused the comet to break off a smaller piece, one now moving slightly faster than the larger. We have decided to call this one Willows, and the larger of the two, Stone. We have lost communication with the Messiah, but we continue to track it visually."

Lindsey felt a chill as she moved to sit next to her grandmother and John came to sit next to her, putting his arm around her.

"While we have been planning and hoping for the best, we have also been preparing for the worst. The world leaders have coordinated a massive strike of Titan missiles to intercept the comets. If we can deflect the comets enough, they will bounce harmlessly off our atmosphere and head on out into space."

* * *

Greg sat silently in the conference room, his hand still clutching the pen he had been signing with. Karen stood, holding a coffee mug and the pot, almost ready to pour but just staring at the screen.

"Unfortunately the missile strike cannot be launched until the comets are much closer to earth. So, in order to protect our way of life in the unlikely event that the comets do impact the earth, we have been taking cautionary steps to ensure that there will be enough of us left to start over."

* * *

Nick sat with Katie as she pulled closer to him, he could only stare at the screen and occasionally look out the window at the perfect blue sky, wondering how it was possible all of this could just end.

"So, in the soft limestone of Missouri we have been constructing a network of immense caves. Stocked with food and water, enough for a million people to live for two years until the air clears and the dust settles. The caves will also be home to animals, seeds, and seedlings, enough to start over. On August 10th a computer will select 800,000 Americans to join the 200,000 scientists, doctors, engineers, teachers, soldiers and artists who have already been chosen. Other countries are constructing caves under whatever lines they feel are best to best to preserve their way of life. This is ours. Beginning tonight and until the crisis passes I am declaring a state of martial law; a national curfew begins tonight at midnight, wherever you are, go home. News stations around the country are being faxed the details of the national lottery and will be giving them to you shortly. God bless us all."

* * *

Karen's phone began to ring and she quietly left the room. Greg looked around the room at his solemn co-workers. Ray sighed, taking his glasses off, rubbing his eyes. Then the news reporter came back on the screen. He looked slightly less composed than he had when he had last been on the screen.

"We now have the details for the national lottery. Those of you that have been preselected will be notified in the next few minutes. Then, on the night of August 10th, those whose Social Security numbers have been randomly selected by computer will be notified. While some Americans over 50 years of age have been preselected because of their expertise in a necessary field of study, no men and women over 50 in the general population will be included in the lottery."

Oh god, Greg thought, Mom…

"Evacuation of those selected for the Ark will take no longer than two days beginning on August 10th in the evening, there will be no un-authorized travel during this two day period. Those selected will be taken by bus and train to the underground Ark site by military personnel. Civil Defense teams have been formed in every town with a population over 5,000. They will organize group shelters in underground parking facilities and other appropriate sites-"

* * *

Lindsey was startled out of her silent reverie by the phone ringing; she reached over John and picked it up.

"Hello? … Yes this is Lindsey Willows… My _whole_ family? My grandma?"

She turned to Lily.

"We've been pre-selected"

The group looked at Lindsey silently before turning back to the TV.

"- So beginning on the night of the tenth the only phones that will ring will be the ones of the people who have been pre selected. That's all"

* * *

**A/N:** So so so so sorry it has taken me soo long to update... I can only plead a crazy schedule at work plus a tiny vacation added into the mix... haha

So I'm going to make it up to you with two chapters! Yay!

Thanks for the reviews so far guys, I love you all!


	5. Chapter 5

_Time to Impact: 3 weeks 6 days

* * *

_

Greg walked along the cliff side at Golden Gate Park with his mother, her arm wrapped in his.

"I don't think I've ever been happier, I even stopped going to those infernal homeowner's association meetings," she said.

Greg smiled looking into her face. "What are you going to do with out your power trip of telling Mrs. Collins that yellow roses aren't appropriate for the neighborhood?"

She just smiled and looked out over the water.

"You know the National Gallery is saving all of the art? They're shipping it to the caves. I gave them that original Greene and Greene desk in the study and the Tiffany lamp in the living room… I really feel like I've protected something."

Greg just gave her a sad smile.

"It doesn't really seem fair that I was picked, before this happened I was nobody."

"Greg you've been holding the Forensics department of the Western Division together better than anyone could have over the past 10 months."

"But still… I can't help you"

"You don't need to worry about me… I'll be happy as long as I know you're going to live."

They strolled in silence for a few more minutes, the light sea breezes rustling their clothes

"Have you talked to Nick?"

"Mom…"

"I know sweetheart but… I just want to know that you believe that you've lived this life we have now to the fullest," She looked out towards the water, "Who knows what all of this will be… I just want you to be happy."

He smiled, wrapping one arm around his mother and walking back towards the trees.

* * *

Lindsey pulled her car into Grissom and Sara's driveway where Grissom sat unloading bottles of water and carrying them into the house.

"Hi Gil"

"Hello Lindsey" he said as he made his way through the garage before tripping and nearly falling over a dirt bike, "Damn it!"

Lindsey stifled a laugh as she opened the door for him.

"I don't know why we even let John bring that horrendous thing with us from Vegas, he hasn't ridden it once…" he said.

That's not entirely true thought Lindsey, remembering the night she and John had gone camping and taken the dirt bike with them. The next day John had showed her how to ride it and laughed when she fell off and got covered in dirt. She smiled at the memory. Sara sat in the kitchen, feeding the baby in a high chair while she watched the news of mass rioting in Beijing on TV.

"Hey Lindsey"

"Hey Sara, have you seen John?"

"I think he went down to the square."

"Ok, thanks!" she shouted running back out of the house and to her car. Sara exchanged a sad smile with Gil and then went back to news.

* * *

John was lying on his back in the grass when Lindsey found him. She lay down next to him and he turned to her and smiled.

"You didn't show up this morning when my mom took me on that visit to Stanford," she said.

He turned back towards the sky, "Uncle Gil said I didn't have to go, he said there's no point."

Lindsey gave him a small smile and drew two rings from her pocket. John gave them a startled look and then looked at her face.

"I talked to civil defense and if we get married you'd be family and I can get you in," she said.

"What about Uncle Gil? Sara and the baby?" I can't go without them."

"You don't have to, I haven't used my fame for anything but I got them to let them come too."

He again looked down at the rings and back into her eyes.

"Please," she said, "I don't want to be in this world without you… It's your only chance."

He suddenly smiled and took her in his arms, kissing her.

* * *

_Time to Impact: Two Weeks, One Day

* * *

_

Jean Sanders quietly walked through the large silent house, heading to the bedroom. She pulled out the dress she had worn on at her 10th anniversary dinner with her husband and laid it on the bed, David had taken her dancing. She walked over to the vanity, applying her makeup as she had that evening 25 years ago. After dressing she walked down the stairs into the warmly lit living room and sat in the chair by the window. The front windows looked out onto the night and the bay in the distance. In her hands was a picture of her husband and beside her on the table a glass of wine and an empty pill bottle. Jean leaned back in the chair with a light smile and sighed.

* * *

Greg sat in his office, going over the reports from the major arson at an office building in Seattle. Karen Flagler sat in the corner by the window, talking on the phone with Catherine, who was flying back from her meeting with the bureau chief of Arizona in Phoenix. Greg had heard that they were having major problems with rioting at the border. Beyond the Secretary of State rain beat against the glass and thunder shook the building. He bent back over the laptop on his desk. Sara had told him that Lindsey had married John, Grissom's nephew, they all were going to the Ark. Sara had been happy, telling Greg she would have someone to bother for two years down there. He had just smiled, not wanting to tell her how unfair he thought it was that Grissom, who was over 50, as well as Lily, Catherine's mother, were both being allowed into the Ark when he couldn't get his own mother in.

He was broken from his thoughts when the phone on his desk began to ring, and Karen gave him an irritated look, like _his_ phone call was the rude one. He just smiled and put the phone up to his ear.

"Hello? … Yes this is he… Jean Sanders, my mother…" his face fell and Karen looked towards him in concern, "When?" Greg's voice broke, "Uh 57… I'll be right down."

Karen moved towards him as he got up, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Greg?"

He just shrugged her off and walked to the elevator. He later found himself collecting his mother's jewelry, placing it into an envelope while the coroner filled out a form. The pieces of his mother's life now in a tiny envelope just made it feel all the more insignificant.

Greg walked in the rain outside the building before sitting down on a bench. Suddenly a car was pulling up beside him. The window rolled down and low and behold it was Nick.

"Greg? Come on man you're gonna get sick, get in the car."

"She's dead Nick… I took care of everything but she's still dead."

"I heard Greg, just come on…"

"Almost two years Nick, two years of you not saying but a few words to me and now all of a sudden you want to be best friends? I don't think so."

He got up and started walking down the street, Nick trailing him in the car.

"Please Greg, I want to talk to you… I… I need you"

"I don't give a shit, go home and tell it to Katie"

"I can't, she left me, got scared and went back to Vegas."

Greg turned to Nick in the car.

"How does it feel then? My mom's gone and I have no one, I'm alone… and so are you."

Nick's face fell and Greg was running around the front of the car, throwing his hand out for a taxi. Nick got out of his car.

"Greg!" he shouted as Greg got into a cab and took off down the road.

* * *

_Time to Impact: 6 days

* * *

_

Lindsey Willows stood with her mother and grandmother. She was holding John's hand and Grissom and Sara stood behind them, Sara holding the baby in a carrier. They watched as the green military bus trundled up the silent street to their house. It pulled to a stop and a man in fatigues got off.

He looked at them and shouted, "Willows?"

"Yeah, that's us," Catherine said, handing him her, Lily's and Lindsey's ID's.

Lindsey pulled John closer, "This is my husband, we have a marriage license."

The soldier looked down at the paper and up at John, "Alright," he said as Lily and Catherine got on the bus.

"Wait!" John said, "The Grissoms, they're coming too."

The man looked down at his list, "I don't have them."

John's face fell.

"What?" Lindsey said, "There must be some sort of mistake, they're names were sent to the white house, they have to be on the list!"

"I'm sorry but they're not here."

Grissom turned to John, "You have to get on."

"No! Not without you guys!"

"John, please!" Sara said.

Lindsey started to cry pulling John, "Please, please, please."

Catherine had grabbed Lindsey and the soldiers were pulling the two to the bus. John was pulled from her grip and suddenly Lindsey was on the bus and it was driving away. She ran to the back, sobbing as she stared out the window at John standing in the middle of the street.

* * *

_Time to Impact: 5 days

* * *

_

Lindsey looked out the bus's windows solemnly at the entrance to Ark cave. She moved like a zombie as Lily and Catherine took her hands and they slowly moved towards processing. Lindsey looked up at the sky and suddenly stopped walking.

"I'm not coming"

"What?" Lily practically screamed, "Of course you are!"

"I have to go back for John"

"Catherine," Lily said, "Tell her not to"

Lindsey just stared sadly at her mom and Catherine wrapped her up in a hug, crying as she did. She wiped her eyes and stepped back, taking off her necklace.

"Mom? What are you doing?"

"You'll need something to trade," she turned to Lily, "Your ring mom."

Lily solemnly took her ring off and gave it to Lindsey, hugging her tightly.

"You be careful ok? I love you"

"I love you too," Lindsey said, taking both women into a hug, "We'll make it."

With that she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

"Where are you at on the mass suicide in New Mexico?" Karen asked, walking with Greg down the hall of the facility, passing the different labs. Greg saw Wendy quietly processing something on a table as he walked by.

"Greg?"

"Oh, sorry, uh, it appears they distributed cyanide tablets to the congregation, not sure where they got them yet."

She sighed, looking out the windows towards the bay. "Don't worry about it, have the team pack up and tell them to head home."

Greg nodded, understanding. This was all falling apart, and not much of what they did mattered anymore. Until the comets hit they were just going through the motions of daily life, it was all anyone seemed to be able to do.

The two of them made their way into the conference room, waiting on a call from Washington that was coming in 20 minutes. Greg turned when Nick came in. Flagler glanced between the two men and silently made her way out of the room.

"What are you doing here?"

"I can't stay long, I'm leaving the city but I wanted to show you something. I wanted to show you that you're not alone." He crossed to Greg's side of the table, pulling old blown up photographs out of his folder, setting them down in front of Greg.

They had been taken two years ago at the house on Half Moon Bay. The first was a shot down the beach, Greg was on Nick's back and he was laughing and smiling… they both were. The other was a closer picture of their faces, taken by Greg, the house in the background.

"It was such a perfect day," Nick said, "Just the two of us all alone on the beach. We had to build the pile of sand to set the camera on just to get a picture of the two of us, you remember?"

"Not really, it was two years ago Nick…"

"Oh… ok…" Nick said quietly, "Greg," he grabbed Greg's hand, "It was such a beautiful day for us."

Greg just stared silently down at the photos.

"Keep them," Nick said, squeezing Greg's hand, "Goodbye."

He left the room and Greg stood over the photos, tears in his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n: **Again, sorry for the delay! Here's the finale! Thanks for sticking with it!

_Time to Impact: 14 hours_

_

* * *

_

"Ok, so the Titan missiles have been launched and should reach the comets within about 20 minutes. After they impact the comets will need to travel for awhile so they can be tracked and see if they will have been pushed to a safe trajectory to not hit the earth, we'll stay with you until we know all the details, so once more, we're going to have to wait."

Lindsey sat in the back of a truck, listening to the crackling voice on the radio, she had managed to get a ride heading west and was almost to the city, traffic was getting worse, and she thought if she got a bike she might actually be able to make it into San Francisco to get to the house. She looked up at the dark sky, the spots where the comets were bright as day. Lindsey held her knees to her chest and thought of John and nothing else.

* * *

The entire forensic department of the Western division, the ones that were left anyway, sat in the conference room watching the TV. The missiles had struck over an hour ago and they were waiting for word on what had happened. Greg sat at the head of the table. He glanced out through the glass walls where Karen paced on her cell phone, shaking her head and gesturing, she looked like she was about to cry. She saw Greg looking at her and moved off down the hall to her own office.

Wendy sat quietly next to Ray, staring at the TV with almost resigned sadness. Greg felt responsible. For all of this, he didn't know why, but it was all he could think. Then, the President came on, Greg couldn't help but think that this was the last time many people would even see him again. He looked incredibly haggard and worn down.

"Our missiles have failed," he stated bluntly, "The comets are still headed for Earth… and there is nothing we can do to stop them. If life does go on, it will not be for all of us. We have been able to calculate the comets final trajectories, and we have determined where they are going to strike. The smaller of the comets, Willows, will hit first, somewhere along the Pacific Seaboard, probably in the waters out from Northern California in just under 12 hours at 3:25 pm Western Time. The impact of the comet is going to be disastrous; there will be a very large tidal wave traveling through the Pacific Ocean. It'll be 100 feet high and moving at 1,100 miles an hour, faster than the speed of sound. As it reaches shallow waters the wave is going to slow down, but the wave height, depending on the depth of the shelf off the coast will be anywhere from 1,000 to 3,500 feet high. Where the land is flat it will wash inland as far as the Rocky Mountains. The wave will hit Los Angeles a half hour after impact. San Francisco, Seattle, Portland… all will be destroyed. If you have any means of getting away from this wave, leave now."

* * *

Lindsey stood beside the truck, holding a bike she had found on the side of the road, she felt the adrenaline course into her veins and she took off down the road towards what she hoped was her old neighborhood.

"The impact of the second comet will be nothing short of an extinction level event. It will strike land in Eastern China, about 4 hours after Willows. Within a week the skies will be dark with dust from the impact and they will stay dark for two years. All plant life will be dead within… 4 weeks, animal life within… a few months. So that's it… good luck to us all."

* * *

With that the President left the screen and the workers of the forensic department stared numbly as a newscaster came back on. That was it, life as they knew it, was going to be over in about 11 and a half hours.

Karen came back into the room; Greg could see she had used the time to compose herself. She held straws in her clutched right hand.

"We have one helicopter, it holds seven people, it can take you to high ground in Yosemite before taking myself and Greg on to the Ark, short stick goes."

The collected group of workers just nodded as Karen began circling the room, handing out straws. Greg stood, watching the faces of resignation and the very few of relief. He watched as Ray took his long straw, nodded and walked out of the room, silently patting Greg on the shoulder. Greg felt tears coming to his eyes… This wasn't _fair_.

It came down to Wendy and another young man Greg didn't know too well, there was one seat left. They drew at the same time. Wendy got the long one. Karen touched her arm.

"I'm so sorry Wendy"

Wendy just nodded and moved towards the door. Greg tearfully turned to her.

"Wendy…"

"I'll be ok," she said, giving him a sad smile, "There's always the road."

With that she left the room.

"Ok, that's it," Karen said, moving out of the room to pack up her office.

* * *

_Time to Impact: 5 hours 22 minutes_

_

* * *

_

Lindsey threw the bicycle down in street and ran towards John's old house, screaming his name. The streets were strewn with debris and half the homes were left open, John's being one of them. The garage door was up and the front door stood ajar. She ran through the house calling out to John, Grissom, and Sara before she ended up in the garage, looking into the empty driveway that should have held Grissom's large white Denali but only held Sara's Prius.

Lindsey looked at her watch then looked over at John's chained up dirt bike, she ran back into the house, going up to his room and taking the keys from his desk drawer and running back down to unchain the bike and slide on, grabbing a helmet and tearing off down the road.

* * *

_Time to Impact: 3 hours 46 minutes_

_

* * *

_

Karen appeared at Greg's office door, clutching her purse and a large satchel.

"Come on Greg, what are you doing?"

Greg looked up to see a lab tech and an assistant from the office with bags running past her to the roof stair. He threw his last few items in his bag and got up, looking quickly one last time out the window to the bay and then towards the mountains, where he could see the roads going out of the city packed with cars using both sides of the road too. They'll never make it he thought.

Karen was pulling him towards the door when he told her to hold on.

"What are you doing?" she screamed at him as he pulled open a drawer and grabbed a manila envelope before following her out.

"Come on," she said, "We have to go now"

The two were jogging down the hall when he saw Wendy sitting at the worktable in the DNA lab. He stopped suddenly, his bag dropping off his shoulder.

"Greg!" Karen shouted.

"Wendy?" he said, moving into the room, "What are you doing?"

Karen came running in behind him, stopping suddenly. Wendy looked up at him.

"The road was so crowded it was obvious that I wasn't going to make it so I thought I'd stay here because it's quiet here and I'm on the 18th floor so… so maybe I'll be ok"

Greg grabbed her hand and pulled her with him as he broke into a run towards the roof stair.

"What are you doing?" Karen was shouting behind them as they ran up the stairs.

The three burst onto the roof where the helicopter was already running and the pilot was helping people in.

"Get her in there!" Greg shouted, pushing Wendy in front of him towards the door; the wind from the rotors whipping all of their clothing.

"What?" Wendy said.

"You're taking my seat!"

"Oh Greg," she sobbed as she got in.

"Wait a minute!" the pilot shouted, "That's too many!"

"I'm not going!" Greg shouted, the pilot running to the door in the front.

"What do you mean you're not going?" Karen asked from beside him, her hair that had been pinned up now billowed about her face in the strong wind.

"I'm not going Karen… GO!" he shouted pushing her into her seat and shutting the door.

Wendy stared out at him with wide eyes as he backed away, waving the helicopter to leave as he ducked. Greg watched the chopper lift and bank away off the roof of the building, heading towards the mountains. It seemed dozens of choppers were doing the same thing, lifting off from different locations in the city and all heading east.

Greg pulled the clasp on the manila envelope and let it fall to the helipad and skitter away in the breeze. He stared down at the picture of Nick and himself on the beach, taken two long summers ago. Greg looked out towards the bay and the ocean beyond and turned to go downstairs.

* * *

_Time to Impact: 46 minutes_

_

* * *

_

Lindsey weaved through the cars that were going nowhere fast as she scanned all eight lanes moving in the same direction for Grissom's large white SUV. She had been riding for hours away from the city on the closest highway to their neighborhood that headed east and hadn't seen the massive vehicle yet. Another thing she hadn't seen was Greg Sander's car in the far median roaring in the other direction from traffic. Lindsey also couldn't have seen the crew of the Messiah, who far above her in space had decided what they were going to do about the larger comet.

She felt the despair growing as she began to fear she had taken the wrong highway when she heard a loud and close horn and someone screaming her name. She stopped the bike, skidding a little and almost falling. Lindsey turned to see the large white SUV with John climbing off the roof and running towards her. She got off the bike and ran to him while he shouted her name and took her up in his arms, passionately kissing her.

They were suddenly with Grissom and Sara, both looking extremely disheveled; Sara with the baby on her hip and Grissom holding a strap-on carrier.

"You don't have any time," Grissom said, undoing the straps on the carrier.

Sara grabbed Lindsey's arm "I need you to take the baby"

"What? No! I can't!"

"Yes you can," Grissom was already strapping the carrier on her, pulling the two teenagers towards the dirt bike.

"John, can you drive that?"

"Yeah… But… Uncle Gil… I…" John's voice broke.

"There's no time" Sara said as she put the crying baby into the carrier on Lindsey's front.

Gil hugged John as the teen climbed onto the bike.

"I love you!" John began to cry as he hugged his uncle.

"I love you too," Grissom said, "Put this on!" grabbing the helmet Lindsey had dropped on the ground. Sara grabbed the one off the back of the bike as Lindsey sat and put it on her head. Sara hugged Lindsey and kissed the baby on the head as the girl wept.

"You take care of him," Sara said.

"I can't do this," Lindsey repeated through the tears. Gil hugged her as Sara hugged John. The two backed away as Sara gave one last kiss to the baby.

"Go John, now!" Grissom shouted, "Get up into the mountains!"

John gunned the bike as Lindsey wrapped her arms around him and the two sped away between the cars.

Sara watched silently before dissolving into tears as Grissom held her.

* * *

_Time to Impact: 17 minutes_

_

* * *

_

Greg pulled his car to a stop in front of the old beach house. He ran up the steps across the wide front porch into the house and began to shout Nick's name. He had searched both floors and began to panic, had he been wrong? Had he come all this way for nothing?

He walked out onto the porch and looked across the street; on the wide beach a lone figure stood down by the water.

Greg made the slow jog across the street and out to the edge of the water, kicking off his shoes as he went, he slowed and stopped next to Nick who was momentarily startled before he smiled warmly and placed a hand on Greg's shoulder. Greg smiled looking out towards the water.

"Once, when you were asleep, I took a hundred dollars from your wallet to buy a new shirt," he said.

Nick smiled, looking over at Greg.

"I made a mistake and didn't marry the love of my life," Nick said.

Greg turned to Nick.

"When I said I didn't remember much about when we were here I lied. I remember everything. I remember we took that picture right over there and built the sand pile to hold the camera right over there. After that we laid on the beach all day, just the two of us… no one around. It was a perfect day… I came down here to tell you that."

"Thank you"

"I've missed us since then," Greg said, placing his hand on Nick's cheek.

"I've missed us too," Nick said, wrapping Greg up in his arms and kissing him deeply. Greg broke the kiss; smiling and crying as he leaned into Nick, placing his head on his shoulder and chest as Nick held him.

* * *

John threaded the dirt bike through the narrow openings in the traffic up the steepening terrain while Lindsey clutched John's waist and held the baby tightly.

A large roar distracted her; she looked into the west where a bright light was falling towards the earth, leaving a plume of smoke behind.

* * *

Greg and Nick stood holding each other tightly as they watched the object fall from the sky far out in the ocean. They saw it meet the horizon and there was a bright flash of light and a plume erupted in the distance. All was silent until a rippling and roaring wind came rushing across the water, almost causing the two men to fall as the wind whipped around them. The skies grew dark and had a strange orange tint, almost like sunset. Greg held onto Nick for support and Nick turned Greg's face to his.

"I love you"

Greg could see that Nick meant it with every fiber of his being.

"I love you!" Greg said, meaning it and kissing Nick fiercely one last time. He turned to the ocean where the water was rapidly receding from the coastline. Suddenly a dark wall of water blotted out the horizon. Greg burrowed his face into Nick's chest.

"Nick…"

Nick held him close and closed his eyes as the water met the beach.

* * *

_20 minutes after Impact._

_

* * *

_

John and Lindsey had abandoned the road, careening up the steep hillsides, just trying to find the extra foot that would save them.

Sara and Grissom stood beside the SUV, watching the wave come inland, rushing up the interstate. People screamed and ran past them in a futile attempt to get away. Grissom pushed a stray hair behind Sara's ear as she looked up into his face.

_I love you_, she mouthed as he took her into his arms and the wave raced up the last mile to them.

"Come on!" John shouted to Lindsey, tugging her hand as they struggled up the hill that had been to steep for the bike. Other people were scrambling beside them, grabbing onto rocks and shrubs, trying to get purchase.

John finally pulled her up and over a rock, the two lying on their backs, Lindsey holding onto the baby. She sighed at sat up, looking towards the west, where everything had been covered by water, she could still hear the water slamming into the valleys and hillsides beneath them. From what she could see everything was gone, it looked like the ocean had just come up and risen a thousand feet, bringing the coast to the mountainside. Lindsey grabbed John's hand and the two looked out far into the distance where they could see the bright spot from the larger comet still coming. They had escaped the wave, but did it really even matter?

Then there was an incredible flash in the distance and second comet appeared to fall apart in the sky. Small pieces arced across the atmosphere, leaving tiny trails and lighting up the area. Everyone around them had stopped and were pointing into the sky. John smiled and looked into Lindsey's eyes and down at the baby. He then brought her in for a kiss. A kiss that wouldn't be their last.


	7. Chapter 7

_Two Months Later_

_

* * *

_

"Lindsey! Come on! It's about to start."

"One second!" Lindsey yelled down the stairs before turning back to baby Caleb.

"Who's my perfect boy, huh? Come on… stop kicking so I can put this on you!"

The one year old laughed and giggled as Lindsey struggled with the diaper. As soon as she got it on he stopped squirming.

"Brat," she said, picking up the baby and walking down to the living room where her Mother and Grandmother sat with John. Their new family of five had returned to Vegas a month and a half ago, Catherine buying a new house with John starting school and Lindsey starting next semester after a few more months with the baby.

Lindsey took her seat next to Lily and balanced the baby on one knee while Catherine turned the volume up.

"And now, the President of the United States."

The crowd that had gathered applauded wildly as Secretary of State Karen Flagler stepped down and President Gerring moved up to the podium in Golden Gate Park, the ravaged bay behind him. The two towers of the Golden Gate Bridge stood behind him, one leaning dangerously towards the shore, all the spans missing and cables hanging from both towers and the remaining road deck on either end of the bay. Still even farther beyond in the bay you could see the cranes and other evidence of reconstruction.

"We watched as the second comet was destroyed by the Messiah crew who bravely gave their lives to fly the ship deep into the comet and detonate the remaining explosives. The millions of pieces of rock and ice burned harmlessly in our atmosphere and lit up the sky for over two hours. Still, we were left with the devastation of the first. The water washed as far inland as southern Arizona, it washed away cities, towns, and farms. But, the water receded. The wave hit Asia and Australia too. Millions were lost, countless more left homeless. But the water receded. Cities fall, but they are rebuilt. And heroes die… but they are remembered. We honor them with every brick we lay, with every field we sow. With every child we comfort and then teach to rejoice in what we have been regiven. Our planet… Our home. So now, let us begin."

The crowd erupted into enormous cheers, tears upon many faces.

Lindsey looked away from the TV, down to the baby in her lap. She then looked over to the console table against the wall. Framed photos taking up its length. One of Grissom and Sara's wedding, another of Nick and Greg from the lab, arms on each other's shoulders; another yet of the entire team. Lindsey smiled, feeling the tears come to her eyes. She looked over to John, who smiled and put his arm around her. She held the baby, leaning into his embrace, feeling the gifts of her life, her family's lives and the gift of a new chance to enjoy them.

_The End

* * *

_

**a/n: **Thanks again guys! Not too sure how happy I am with this story in general... next one will be an original piece.. hopefully I can get back to my roots a bit!

Til next time!


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